Yes, you read the title correctly: I lied when I said I’d read A Wrinkle in Time. Like, for years I’ve lied about it. I knew the general premise of the book so it was easy enough for me to fumble my way through a conversation if it came up. If I didn’t fumble correctly (which happened often) I’d say something like, “Oh I forgot about that part. It’s been so long since I’ve read it,” and people would always believe me.

Truthfully, I did read part of it, well the first three chapters of it, when I was in middle school. I loved it. It captured my attention and I couldn’t wait to hear more about Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin’s adventures. What happened to Meg and Charles Wallace’s father? Would they be able to find him? What were this Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Witch all about anyway? The thing is, I loved the first few chapters so much I put the book down and walked away. I’ve done this with a handful of other books over the years (Harry Potter, City of Bones, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), because I knew I’d get sucked into the world. It would captivate me, leave me wanting more, and then be over and I’d be heartbroken that I would never be able to relive those moments again. Sure, I could reread the book as many times as I wanted, but I’d never be able to reread it for the first time.

With the A Wrinkle in Time movie coming out, I decided I’d finally do it. I’d sit down and read the entire book, no matter how much I’d be sad that the story was over. And I could kick myself for waiting nearly twenty years to read it. The first few chapters were just as good as I remembered, and the rest of the book lived up to them. Yes, I was sad the book was over and I did want to hear more about Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin, and the rest of the characters, I was also happy to have read it. It also helps that this is a quintet so I’ve got three other books to immerse myself in. Assuming I don’t lie about those, too.

Have you ever done this? Have you ever lied about reading a book for one reason or another? Let us know in the comments!

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2 Comments

CHRISTINE MARCINIAK
March 13, 2018 - 12:02

I don’t think I’ve ever intentionally lied about reading a book – but there are some books I’m genuinely not sure if I read or just thought about reading and heard so much about that I assume I read it. Okay – well I may have lied about reading Moby Dick because it was a summer reading assignment in high school and I didn’t read it. But I readily acknowledge not having read it – just not to my teachers at the time (and they may never have asked.)
That said – there are lots of other books with Meg and Calvin – not just the time Quintet – so you can happily immerse yourself in their life for quite a while.

It happens. I used Wrinkle in Time as a Read Aloud book with my daughter when she was seven or eight. Recently Professor daughter went back and read it for herself. As would be expected, she got a LOT more out of it as an adult. Maybe I should read it again, as an older adult.